Match Preview | Charlton v Argyle
Just three days after a superb 2-0 win over Peterborough United, Argyle are quickly back in Sky Bet League One action on Tuesday night, against Charlton Athletic.
The Pilgrims travel to The Valley having won two of their opening three league fixtures, sitting two points and nine places above their hosts in the admittedly fledgling league table.
Charlton finished 13th last season, and switched managers in the summer, replacing Johnnie Jackson with Ben Garner. Garner, who had a short spell as Bristol Rovers boss, took Swindon Town to a League Two play-off spot in his first season with The Robins, and has had a mixed start to his Addicks tenure.
Charlton began with a trip to Accrington Stanley on the opening day of the season, and the fixture produced plenty of drama. Charlton led through a Scott Fraser goal in the first half, but approached the game’s final stages at 1-1 after a Stanley equaliser with 20 minutes to go.
Charlton thought they had won the game when 18-year-old Miles Leaburn, son of former Addicks forward Carl, scored his first senior goal four minutes into injury time, only for Accrington to go straight up the other end and equalise for a second time.
Athletic won their only home game so far, being Derby County 1-0 thanks to a Corey Blackett-Taylor goal, but lost in Sheffield by the same margin last weekend when former Argyle loanee Tyreeq Bakinson scored a winner for Wednesday.
In between the league fixtures, Charlton advanced to the second round of the Carabao Cup. They beat Queens Park Rangers on penalties following a 1-1 draw in which Aaron Henry, another teenager getting his first Charlton goal, scored a late leveller.
Charlton have retained Jayden Stockley, a centre-forward who scored 20 times last season, and whose previous strong goalscoring record for Exeter City earned him a £750k move to Preston North End in 2019.
Also in the Addicks squad is Steven Sessegnon, who played 10 times for Argyle in a loan spell from Fulham last season, and has started all three league games for Charlton so far.
Three players have followed Garner from Swindon to The Valley – goalkeeper Jojo Wollacott, midfielder Jack Payne and defender Mandela Egbo – while Eoghan O’Connell and Conor McGrandles have come in from Rochdale and Lincoln City respectively.
Schumacher Says
“Charlton have got loads of good movement in their shape, and how they rotate. They’ve got really good players. We looked at Charlton’s squad last season, and said they had one of the strongest squads in League One. They just didn’t get going for whatever reason.
“They’ve still got the majority of that squad, and they’ve recruited well, added some better players. They are a really good side, have played some nice football in their first few games, and were unlucky on Saturday. It’s going to be a tough one.”
Argyle Team News
Mickel Miller, Conor Grant, James Bolton and Panutche Camara are expected to miss out with injuries that have prevented them from playing this season so far.
Otherwise, Steven Schumacher reports no further issues with anyone in the squad.
Tickets
Tickets can be purchased on the day of the game, at The Valley.
Argyle TV
If you cannot make the game, then it is available to watch on Argyle TV worldwide for just £10.
Click here to see what is available in your region.
